The Intelligence Corps is looking to recruit in support roles for its work in counter intelligence, image analysis, signals and cyber intelligence.
The roles are part-time in the Army Reserve and the skills and experience gained in uniform are valuable back in the workplace, she said.
Lt Col Mclean was speaking at a briefing organised by Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership at Bletchley Park, home of the wartime codebreakers.
She said: “Our bread and butter job is to collate information from a multitude of streams, look at it, analyse it, make an assessment and then get the right information to the right people at the right time, and sometimes we have to be very, very quick.”
6 MI Battalion is filled mainly with reservists and its 63 MI Company is based at a new Army Reserve facility in Water Eaton Road, Bletchley.
Lt Col McLean said they are looking to fill a variety of roles but the Corps is not looking for wannabe James Bonds, Spooks or a Walter Mitty.
She said: “We need bright and intelligent professional people who will get specialist training and can work as a team in problem solving and decision-making.”
Having a member of staff in the Army Reserve is an advantage for employers, Lt Col MacLean added. “They get the benefit of their people having all that additional training and experience and leadership and management skills are transferable between either roles.”
The Army Reserve provides help and advice to employers, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, and there is support if reservist staff are mobilised.
Reservists must complete the equivalent of at least 27 days training a year, including midweek evenings, some weekends and a two-week camp.
Lt Col McLean joined the TA as a Private in 1987 rising through the ranks alongside a 30-year career in the Cheshire Police. Now retired from the police, in 2015 she became the first female Army Reservist to command an Intelligence Corps Reserve Battalion.
MKBLP chairman Dr Philip Smith said: “I was approached by Phaedra at an Army reception event and when she explained what she did I was intrigued and felt there was a real opportunity for her to reach skilled people in Milton Keynes through Business Leaders.
“Her presentation really motivated our members and I hope we can build a healthy relationship with the Army Reserve.”
